


Breakfast Club

by wordtinkerer



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-26
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-14 02:12:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14760662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordtinkerer/pseuds/wordtinkerer
Summary: On a cold Saturday morning, these five teenagers will have to come to terms and spend four detention hours together, each one facing their own demons. Loosely based on John Hughes' movie, hope you enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter I. 

Breakfast Club   
Hogwarts, 1977  
Hogwarts File nº 566  
Student: James Potter, Gryffindor House, Seventh Year, Head Boy, Quidditch Captain.   
Penalty Assigned by: Professor Horace Slughorn  
Detention: Two weeks out of Hogsmeade visits, Saturday detention.   
Saturday, 8:00   
Tiny rays of sunshine crept between the gap in James Potter’s bed curtains, and the seventeen-year-old moved his arm up to cover his face from it. He moaned in his sleep, smiling as he returned to Lily Evans’ lap and lips inside his mind. As she was taking off her shirt, however, something stumped on the bed, shaking its wooden structure all over. He groaned, feeling his limb legs begin to come alive under the covers, and tried picturing her again. Another stump. Lily’s face began to fade, replaced by the blackness of his closed lids as he returned to consciousness. Another thump, and he was awake.   
‘What in the hell is-‘he sat quickly, his head aching and his crotch aching from his dream. Furious and revolted, he opened the curtain, and could’ve killed Sirius right there.   
Padfoot, the lad who slept right beside him and was also his best friend, was trying to get dressed in his sleep, his numb legs pounding on the bed posts as he tried inserting them inside his trousers, failing miserably. Each thump made the boys around complain, but none of them had reason to enjoy the last of their beauty sleep that Saturday morning. James got up, trying to loosen the knot around his pyjamas so the boys wouldn’t see the result of his Lily dream and grabbed his pillow.   
‘Time to wake up, bastard.’ He grimaced, rising the pillow over his head as he calculated the blow to hit Sirius’ face with one precise strike. As the fluffy cover hit him straight on the nose, Sirius woke up with a gasp, letting go of the trousers and giving James an unwanted view of his boxers. Thank goodness he didn’t sleep naked on winters, he thought. They had had some nasty experiences with that in the past.   
‘Why d’you do that, you wanker?!’ he hissed under his breath, sitting upright and staring blankly at James’ sleepy face. ‘We don’t have to be up for another… wait… Twenty sodding minutes.’  
As he tried to go back to sleep, James rose the pillow over his head again. ‘You woke me up, stupid. Stop trying to get dressed, damn it!’  
‘Wha-‘Sirius tried replying, his eyes finally focusing on the trousers he was trying to put on, now forgotten on the foot of his bed. He smirked, thinking up a smart response to James, but when he opened his mouth to tell James exactly what he should do if he was so annoyed by him, Prongs was gone.   
James closed the loo’s door with a quiet sigh, leaning on the door as he stripped and handled his cock around his palm, stroking it gently. That the Head Girl spun his head around was no news for anybody, but lately he couldn’t keep her out of his mind. When he was awake he managed to block the visions of her from his mind, focusing on studying, winning quidditch matches and patrolling the corridors, but he couldn’t obviously control his dreams, and they were the worst. Fuck, Evans, he thought. That would definitely be a long, long, bath.   
Sirius finally managed to hop inside his trousers and was roaming inside his drawer when Remus woke, swiftly opening his bed curtains and walking in his beige pyjamas searching for pieces of his uniform. When he saw Sirius awake, he blinked twice and then pursed his lips.   
‘Never again,’ he hissed, unbuttoning his shirt and carefully folding it over his bed, ‘will I let you convince me to do anything. Never. Again.’  
‘Well, I think it was worth it.’ Sirius smirked, taking a newly washed shirt from the cupboard and placing his arms inside. ‘You should stop trying to impose the good boy presence on me, Lupin, for I know you had some fun. Besides, James is Head Boy, not you. You don’t owe this school anything anymore. Enjoy it!’  
‘Shut up, Sirius.’ Peter nagged under his breath, safely tucked inside his bed on the other side of the room. Sirius sniggered, and Remus rolled his eyes. He didn’t need reminding that James was Head Boy, thank you very much. Of course, he knew Dumbledore had made him Prefect in order to put some level of control over the other boys’ actions, and he also knew he had failed miserably, but some small part of him maybe expected that his efforts would be compensated with the Head Boy nomination. Well, he was wrong. Great.   
Sirius grabbed a tie from his bedpost, placed around his neck and touched it with his wand, trying to remember the spell James’ mum had taught him that was supposed to make a good knot out of any tie, instantly. He was lousy at domestic spells, thought. All it did was make the tie turn on itself in a lazy, badly made knot. Shrugging, he tucked his wand on the inner pocket of his robes. Remus was finishing to buckle his belt.   
‘Well, who’s the lazy arse now, hun?’ he boasted, turning on himself. Moony raised an eyebrow. ‘Ready before all the lot of you. I’m such an example.’  
Remus just shook his head, putting a shirt on and buttoning fast as he glanced at the bathroom. ‘Is James’ going out any minute? We should brush before going. ‘  
‘Wanker’s probably daydreaming of Evans in there.’ Sirius rolled his eyes and approached the door, slapping it. ‘Oye, you share this bloody loo, y’know? Gettout, Prongs!’  
With a heavy steam cloud, the door opened, and James strolled out, half naked and with a smug smile on his face. ‘All yours, love. Morning, Moony.’  
‘Morning. You should really place a muffing spell around your bed, just a suggestion.’ Remus remarked as James walked past him and began putting the rest of his uniform. ‘We can head you moaning Lily’s name, it’s… off-putting.’  
James had the grace to blush on the cheeks. 

Lily couldn’t believe she was awake on that ungodly hour, and on a Saturday, of all days. She rolled her eyes as she passed the brush over the length of her auburn hair, her eyes twitching over to the Head Girl pin on her chest as if to remind her she had been unworthy of it. She reflected a bit if she could skip the badge altogether, but something inside her said it was better to just go with it. She didn’t regret the reason she was being punished, after all.   
The bathroom door opened, and Marlene Mckinnon stepped out fully dressed, her raven black hair tied on a loose bun over her head, blue eyes slightly red from the lack of sleep. ‘This should be forbidden.’ She muttered as she grabbed her wand and tucked inside her robes, groaning. ‘Nine in the morning is no hour for nobody to be having no detention.’  
‘Well, we did deserve it, though.’ Lily commented, picking her own wand and going to the dorm door with her friend.   
‘Oh, stop it.’ Marlene closed the door carefully behind them and descended the stairs bracing herself for the cold weather that was beginning to form outside, the grey skies greeting them darkly as they passed in front of the windows on the common room. ‘I should’ve done worse to him for what he’s done. And you too. It’s an unfair punishment, don’t go all Head Girl on me, dear’  
‘Well, ‘Lily passed thought the Fat Lady portrait (‘Good morning would be nice, gals!’ shouted the woman in pink as they ran to catch the stairs before they switched to another wing) ‘now it’s irrelevant to discuss the fairness of the situation. Let’s just spend this morning the best we can and then enjoy Saturday afternoon with the girls.’  
‘I do hope they don’t make us clean anything, ‘Marlene said, dreading the usual punishment Professors fancied giving as detention, ‘we could help Minerva with first years homework, or even help Professor Slughorn… Anything but cleaning, it’s so boring. Besides, the lads have cleaned up this entire castle upside down already, I doubt any spot of it needs as much as a scrub these days.’  
Lily pursed her lips but said nothing. She didn’t like “the boys” very much (well, maybe just one of them, Remus Lupin) but Marlene was sort of friends with them, so she didn’t like speaking ill of them in front of her, so she wouldn’t be upset. Also, she had been having some weird thoughts lately, thoughts she wish he didn’t have, specially about him.   
As if her dread conjured him up, she stopped at the foot of the stairs that lead to the Main Hall, now mostly empty except for one or two professors and three Gryffindor boys. Marlene raised her eyebrows. ‘Why are they awake?’   
‘Maybe they never slept, ‘Lily felt her stomach turning and her lips drying out, an unwanted flush making her cheeks go pink. She wished her hypothesis was right, but something inside her, deep inside her, told her that was not it. The alternative, however, was worse. ‘let’s eat.’  
Marlene, though, was already footing over to them, puzzled look on her face. Lily raced to follow her, breathing slowly and steadily to control herself around him. She stopped as far as she could without seeming odd, but enough to head what Marlene was saying.   
‘Well, if it isn’t the official Hogwarts caretakers. ‘she mocked, and Sirius Black raised his deep grey eyes at her, smirking.   
‘Filch just loves our jobs, I’m thinking about staying here and helping him, actually.’  
‘You got detention, Marle?’ James asked, and the sound of his voice made Lily’s legs turn to mush. God bloody damn it, she cussed mentally, crossing her arms in front of her chest so as to hide the fact that she was staring at him. She never really liked him that much, but ever since they were put on Head Boy and Girl duties, she just couldn’t stop thinking about him. He had grown a lot, not just morally, but physically as well. And that, she thought, was the worse of it.   
It was easy to ignore James Potter when he was but a skinny lad with sloppy hair and annoying friends, but over the summer he had evolved, much to her despair. His skinny form was stiffer, his arms toned and this torso slim and fit, matching perfectly with the athletic attitude he got going on ever since he was positioned as Captain for the Gryffindor Quidditch team. His hazel eyes matched perfectly his jet-black hair and recently developed jaw, and sometimes, when she was really tired, she pictured herself tracing a path of kissed over his slender neck, feeling the annoying smell of his perfume all over her.   
‘You got detention, Evans?’ Sirius’ gasp woke her up from her daydream, and she scowled him.   
‘Yes, I did. For a good cause, Black.’   
‘Oh, really,’ he grinned, ‘why?’  
‘None of your business.’  
‘Why?’ his smile was faltering, but she knew he wouldn’t stop pestering her soon. Sirius Black was a known stubborn loose cannon, ‘Am I not noble enough to know why you deserved your punishment, love?’  
‘Stop it, Padfoot,’ James intervened, and Lily felt her heart skip a bit, warmth all over her chest as she turned to look at him. He also had his Head Boy badge over his chest and was looking at her with a smug smile. ‘Lily isn’t used to having detention, let her be.’  
Sirius rolled his eyes but resumed eating without uttering any other word at her. Lily was always amazed at how James could control him. Unfortunately, it only made him hotter. Trying to put on her best stiff face, she turned to Potter.   
‘Thank you, Potter, but I don’t need your help to defend myself. If Black wants to insist on bothering me, I’ll just destroy his hair with a very nice spell I know that turns men bald instantly. No recovery. Am I clear?’  
Sirius rose his eyebrows, but just shrugged his shoulders. Lily sat down with the last of her dignity, trying to ignore James’ deep stare at her and failing miserably. She had to control herself around him and spending the entire morning by his side doing Merlin-knew-what was not going to help her. Oh, lord.


	2. Chapter II

Hogwarts File nº 567  
Student: Sirius Black, Gryffindor House, Seventh Year.   
Penalty Assigned by: Professor Filius Flitwick  
Detention: Saturday Detention.  
Saturday, 9:00   
Sirius strode over the empty corridors beside James, looking around the sleeping portraits and burying his hands on his trousers’ pockets. On the morning before, they all had received the same note from Professor McGonagall, stating they should be in Filch’s office at nine o’clock precisely. Evans objected to going with them, so instead she and Marlene just followed them, a couple of steps back so to pretend they weren’t going together, but instead at the same time. Sirius rolled his eyes, wondering what the red head thinking was. Like she could fool him. She had the hots for Prongs and only his horny friend couldn’t see it.   
He giggled to himself. Horny, see? He was a horny stag and a horny teenager. He was so bloody funny.   
The Hogwarts carekeeper was already awaiting them, his bony complexion grimly staring at a distance as he rummaged through the student’s files anxiously. Sirius sniffed the air as they approached, and frowned, exchanging looks with James. Was he wearing a cologne?  
‘Well well, the criminals are here!’ he grimaced as they stopped, gazing at each of them. ‘Thought you could get away with breaking the school’s rules, hun? Well, you were wrong. Come with me!’  
Sirius could yawn if he hadn’t just had a full cup of hot black tea for breakfast. Always the same script, Filch waited for them, began all his sentences with ‘well, well’ yada yada, whatever. As they followed him through a path the boy didn’t recognize, the girls went in front of them, and Sirius let his eyes scan McKinnon’s arse for a moment, appreciating it and the girl who owned it. She was fit, Marlene, and was the only one of Evans’ friends who talked to them, but she was no criminal, he knew that. He wondered why she was a detention and had a mind to ask her during whatever menial task the caretaker had in store for their morning.   
They made a turn on the hall, and Lily heard Marlene audibly sigh in relief. At a distance, she reckoned, was the library, and Filch was most likely taking them there. What kind of task awaited them, she couldn’t guess, but she was certain it didn’t involve cleaning. She looked back at Remus, who was beside his friends, and the lad gave her a tiny smile in return. Even though they were the same age, she couldn’t help but find him very old looking, like there was some ancient, parchment-toned soul living inside his young-looking body. She knew the notion of it was silly, but when he smiled she could see clearly the hint of lines forming around his eyes, and among his light brown hair there were already grey ones spiking out.   
They finally reached the library and Filch stopped to knock on the door in a weird, almost gentleman-y manner. Lily and Marlene exchange puzzled looks, and behind them they saw James and Sirius containing smiles. Madam Pince, the skinny blonde librarian, opened the door for them, and let them in with a smile Marlene suspected was just for Filch. The thought of it made her stomach growl in a weird way, the sudden image of each one of the things she had had for breakfast immediately coming to her mind as if her brain was processing the prospects of seeing all of it again.   
‘Well, it was very, kind of you to accept these offenders in your library, Irma.’ Filch commented as they walked over to one of the many wooden study tables near the tall lines of shelves. The librarian nodded curtly.   
‘As a favour to you, Argus, obviously. ‘she smiled a thin smile, and Marlene looked away, feeling her cheeks flush with second-hand embarrassment. As she averted her look, her eyes met Sirius’, and he smiled uncomfortably at her as well. Filch looked at them, flushed.   
‘Well, what are you waitin’ for? Sit down!’  
Sirius raised an eyebrow. What were they going to make them do, just sit down all morning? That was worse than cleaning. Idle, he threw himself on one of the seats, already bored. James sat beside him, trying to keep some posture, and Remus followed at sat on his other side, looking nervous. Sirius smirked at the sight of him, pretending to care. Moony was always good in fooling school staff into thinking he was something other that the marauder he actually was.   
On the other side, Lily sat in front of Remus, trying to protect herself from the magnetic field around James Potter. She didn’t know how, but she could feel his presence near her, creeping. Marlene sat right beside him, and playfully kicked Potter under the table, making him smile a little. Something wild and dangerous turned inside Lily’s chest, and she had the sudden urge to push Marlene to the other side, take her away from James’ giggles. She scared herself with the thought.   
‘Well, five criminals in one morning, a record, eh?’ Filch said, grimacing. ‘I told Professor McGonagall you were all a perfect fit for my shackles, but she appears to think they are too outdated… We used to have stricter Professors, in my opinion.’  
Sirius rolled his eyes visibly. The caretaker squinted.   
‘You think I’m joking, Mr. Black?’   
‘No.’ Sirius said, staring at his greasy face. James poked him under the desk. He ignored, already feeling the familiar hotness in his chest he always felt when he knew he was about to do something stupid, but just couldn’t help it. ‘I just think you have a kink with these shackles.’  
Filch glared, and Sirius tried looking relaxed.   
‘One day you will ‘ang from my ceiling, Black. ‘he pursed his thin lips together angrily. ‘And that will be a ‘appy day, oh it will. ‘  
Marlene rose a hand, and the caretaker was surprised.   
‘Yes?’  
‘What will we do in here, then?’  
Sirius gazed at her, wondering if she was really protecting him from getting another detention. Filch seemed to have remembered something, and as he turned him back to grab something over at Madam Pince’s desk, she winked at him. Sirius rose an eyebrow, surprised.   
‘As I was sayin’, ‘he continued, holding some rolls of parchment on his arms, ‘Professor McGonagall said she wanted a more ‘reflective’ detention time for the lot o’ ya, so ‘ere it is. Now is nine twenty, you still ‘ave four hours to think of what ye’ve done. You can’t talk, you can’t move from these seats, except to go to the loo. You can’t sleep too, and no using your wands. You’ll get ‘ese parchments and write about who you think you are, and why you’re ‘ere.’  
‘What?’ Sirius gasped under his breath, and James pinched him hard this time. He looked startled at his friend and got a scowl in return. Prongs mouthed ‘let it go’.   
As he spoke, Filch threw one roll at each of them, and James grabbed his trying not to seem upset. He didn’t enjoy cleaning over and over the same places, obviously, but an essay? What was McGonagall thinking?  
‘I’ll be on the corridors, but Madam Pince ‘ere will be inspecting your work from time to time.’ If she sees any of ya doing somethin’ yer not supposed to, you will get another Saturday like this one. We don’t want that, do we?’  
‘No, Mr Filch. ‘Lily replied immediately, wondering if it was really worth to get that kind of detention. Remus gazed at the parchment, looking miserable, and she felt sorry for him. He looked so tired, too tired to think of writing an essay, clearly.   
‘Good. See the lot ‘of ye in four hours. Thanks again, Irma, ‘ he turned to the librarian, ‘Continue doing whatever you need doin’ ‘ere, please. Just check on ‘em from time to time, will ye?’  
She nodded, and he glared at them one last time before leaving. Madam Pince raised an eyebrow at them. ‘Well, you go write your essay, now.’ And left.   
Remus immediately turned his eyes to the empty parchment before him. Who am I, he thought with a pain in his chest. First, a werewolf. Second, a Hogwarts student. Third, a student that turns into a deadly beast every month and who hasn’t killed any of his friends or colleagues yet because of sheer luck, for he has been breaking the rules for years now as he roamed the forest at nights with three illegal animagus known as his friends. Was that enough?  
Sirius waited until Madam Pince was out of earshot to yawn loudly, scratching behind his ears and leaning on the back legs of his chair. ‘Well, they’re off,’ he said, looking at James, ‘what should we do?’  
‘We should do the bloody essay, Black. ‘Lily scowled, gazing nervously at the parchment before her. Who was she, she thought. She couldn’t believe McGonagall would actually come up with a detention that would make her wish they had been assigned twenty bathroom stalls to clean.   
I’m Head Girl, she thought, reckoning she should start wish something obvious. I’m Muggleborn, and proud of it. I’m not afraid of the war going outside. Yes, good thinking. I’m a Gryffindor, yes…  
I’m hot for James Potter.   
Oh, no. That no.   
Marlene plucked a feather from her pen, playing with it a little as she wondered what to write. She wondered if McGonagall would read what they wrote, or if she was only making them write so she and Lily wouldn’t have to be really punished for what they did. After all, she knew the Professor had only given them detention on account of them breaking school rules, but that deep inside she agreed with them. The problem with McGonagall was exactly that, she never could tell what the Professor had in mind.   
In front of her, James seemed really concentrated on his essay, and she congratulated him mentally on that. Were those other times, he’d be slacking off like Sirius, cracking jokes or planning a huge prank to make Filch regret ever giving them the parchments in the first place. But he was Head Boy now, and she new he wanted to impress Lily with his great change, and that was the perfect opportunity.   
Sirius snorted, and Marlene turned her gaze to him. He was another mystery altogether, she thought. Half the school population, mostly girls but also boys, craved him. He could snap his fingers and a dozen of them would just fly to his feet, enough to build a complete harem. And yet… he didn’t have anyone. The only people he spoke to were his friends, and because she knew James for a long time, he spoke to her. It was weird, being Black’s… acquaintance?   
She couldn’t deny, of course, he was handsome. Deep grey eyes that matched flawlessly with his black hair, wavy curls that fell on his face as if he was always produced for a photo session with the Daily Prophet, a toned athletic body and careless attitude that made the whole ensemble so effortless he looked almost… ethereal. James said everyone in his family was like that, and she believed him. Narcissa Black looked like she had never taken a single shit in her life, and the scarce times she saw pictures of Bellatrix Black on the news the grown witch could be a marble statue, so beautiful she couldn’t believe the crowd she mingled with.   
But, well, they were all as awful and evil as they were beautiful. Except him. There was something almost endearing, the way he stood out of all his family only by being a decent human being. Yet there was something sad about it. James had also told her he had been completely kicked out of the family tree and was fending for himself for the past two years after leaving the Potter’s care, living off a handsome inheritance a generous uncle left him. She wanted to hug him, and then climb on his lap and see how long the lazy careless stud act lasted when he was faced with an actual girl.   
She startled herself with the thought of it, and returned to her essay, trying not to picture her on Black’s lap anymore.   
James gazed at the paragraph he wrote. Who am I? an essay by James Potter.   
My name is James Potter, I am the son of Fleamont and Euphemia Potter. I’m their only son. My father is the inventor of the Sleekeazy Potion, and my grandfather was a member of the Wizengamot. I know my parents love me, but this is a lot to live by.   
No, he scratched that. It was an essay, not a mental evaluation. What should he say next? I’m Head Boy, which is ok, and Quidditch Captain, which is also nice, except that I also need to eat, breathe, study for exams and sleep a couple of hours, so overall, it’s very stressful? I also want to be with my friends. I miss them, even though I see Sirius every time simply because he never leaves me alone.   
Oh, he thought with a grin, I’m also terribly attracted to the Head Girl, who happens to be Lily Evans. James smirked, lowering his face to avoid showing the others his amused face. Faintly, on the very corner of the parchment, he scribbled Lily Evans. The sound of her name made his insides hurt. Covering the name of a hand, he lazily completed with the other: Lily Evans Potter. It had a good ring to it, imposing. He erased it away quickly before Sirius could see and give him hell for it.   
Beside him, Sirius looked around, and stared at the ceiling for an entire minute, revolted. He couldn’t believe the others were really writing the stupid essay. He wasn’t going to tell Minerva McGonagall who he thought he was. She knew who he was. He was Sirius Black. The only Black to ever be sorted into Gryffindor. An illegal secret animagus that not even Dumbledore knew about. He was Padfoot. That was it.   
‘I’m bored.’ He stated, and the others gazed at him at once, startled by the sudden noise. He gave them a smug smile. ‘Let’s do something, come on. As if McGonagall will even read this rubbish!’  
‘The sooner we finish, the better.’ Remus sighed, but when Sirius gazed at him, he hadn’t written anything. He turned to Marlene, who he knew wouldn’t scowl at him.   
‘I’m curious, McKinnon. ‘he said, and she raised an eyebrow, ‘Why are you here, anyway?’


	3. Chapter III

Chapter III.   
Hogwarts File nº 568  
Student: Remus Lupin, Gryffindor House, Seventh Year.   
Penalty Assigned by: Professor Filius Flitwick  
Detention: Saturday Detention  
Saturday, 10:00  
‘So, why are you here?’ Sirius insisted after a moment’s pause, and Remus rolled his eyes and tried to begin his essay for the tenth time. Leave it to Padfoot to stir anything up, he thought. The essay was annoying to write, though…  
‘I’ll tell you if you tell me.’ Marlene retorted, and something dark and cold filled Remus’ throat. He gazed at Sirius, nervous, hoping his boredom wouldn’t overcome the promise he made to keep a secret of what they’d done. Heaven knew it did before, and Snape almost paid with his life for Sirius’ ‘I’m bored’ stage.   
Sirius stopped at her response, staring at her face for a moment, realizing this was one of the longest conversations he’d ever had with the McKinnon girl. She looked at him with a smirk, her blue eyes staring into his, the red mouth curved upwards on one side, a dark eyebrow arched ironically at him. He noticed she was more relaxed than Lily, her uniform only half done, no tie, just the white shirt and the Gryffindor scarf around her neck. He sniffed discreetly, and her perfume travelled all the way into his nostrils. He smirked back at her, the scent making his heart race instantly. One of the perks of being a dog in his animagus form. He knew exactly which smells made him lose his mind.   
‘Something wrong, Black?’ she asked, and he realized she noticed he had been staring at her. Around them, James and Remus had stopped writing, and instead gazed at them, curious. Lily pretended to think about her essay, but he could feel her eyes on him as well. Another boy may have been intimidated, even ashamed by the attention, but he wasn’t any boy. He never felt shame. His chin upward, he looked back into McKinnon’s eyes.   
‘Nothin’. I can’t tell you my crimes, unfortunately. I promised someone I wouldn’t.’  
Marlene rose the other eyebrow. Sirius was just… Oh. ‘Well,’ she said, annoyed, ‘if you can’t tell me, I can’t tell you either. Unfortunately.’  
Sirius could feel his cock pressing his boxers, a sudden urge to grab McKinnon by the waist and press her on some wall making him feel slightly dizzy. Surprised at his reaction to her sass, he turned his eyes to Lily, his feet tapping quickly on the floor beneath the table.   
‘And you, Evans? What did the Head Girl dd to end up here? I thought you were immune to petty things like rules, y’know. Maybe I was wrong…’  
Lily glared at him but sighed. Sirius was bored and trying to be annoying, she knew that, but so was she. She didn’t want to write anything about herself, really. She just wanted to be done with one detention and be gone to lunch with her friends. Maybe talking would take the boredom out a little. At a distance, Madam Pince’s shade passed through the shelves like a ghost, a pile of heavy books floating behind her as she organized them. She turned to Sirius.   
‘You want to know why I got detention, Black?’ she put her best provocative tone in her voice. Her heart somersaulted inside her chest when she noticed James had turned suddenly at her, caught by the sound of her. Sirius opened a different smile, almost predatorial.   
‘Yes, I do, Evans.’ His voice was rough, husky. His eyes had a different shine to it now, like a hunter whose trap caught a particularly big bear. Lily could see why so many girls wanted a go with him, he was charming when he wanted to. Leaning back away from her incomplete essay, she crossed her arms.   
‘Make Madam Pince ignore us and I’ll tell you.’   
James could’ve snogged her here and there. Lily had her lips slightly parted, and a softness to her tone that made him insane. Some primal fury awakened inside him, demanding she speak to him like that, no to Sirius. Maybe she fancies Sirius, a scared tiny voice in his head said. He thought of the both of them together, Sirius snogging her, touching her hair, her skin, and the voice became shrill with anger. He couldn’t do that to him. She couldn’t… He wasn’t… No. Potter, get a grip. She isn’t interested in him; how could she be? Sirius wasn’t her type.   
Sirius was very excited, he could see. He loved when anyone (usually James, of course) decided to help him with his boredom, and that person being Lily Evans was the peak of his insane dreams. As she gave him a challenging look, he took his wand out of his robes, and pointing at the other side of the library, whispered:  
‘Muffiato’  
It was as if a giant bubble of hot air had formed around them and suddenly popped very quickly. Remus knew the spell had worked, and Madam Pince wouldn’t hear anything they said, even if they screamed. Lily seemed surprised, losing a bit of her provocative stance, and Remus smiled. She wasn’t like that, Lily. Even when she tried to compete with Sirius’ sass and annoyance, she couldn’t. She was just too good a person for that.   
‘Well, Evans,’ Sirius leaned back again, crossing his arms around his chest, ‘Now you tell me.’  
Lily leaned on the table. James was thankful she was wearing her full uniform, tie and all, for his mind’s eye could picture the exact form of her breasts in that position, pressed tight against what he thought was a pink bra. He averted his eyes, looking at Padfoot instead, crossing his legs. He cursed himself mentally and made a mind to not look at her again the whole morning. Yes, that’d do.   
‘Marlene and I hurt someone. ‘Lily explained, her cheeks a tad pink from admitting it. She wasn’t ashamed of what she’d done, but saying it to someone else, even worse, to Sirius Black, made it feel a little… wrong, maybe. ‘Evan Rosier.’  
James gasped. ‘You were the ones who sent Rosier to the Hospital Wing?’ His resolution of not looking at Evans had crumbled really fast, he thought. She seemed a little sad to be saying that, and he tried to hide the admiration in his voice as he turned to her. ‘What did he do?’   
‘He was threatening Mary. ‘Marlene admitted, her jaw clenched. She had a dark look in her eyes as she talked about it, the essay in front of her forgotten. ‘He was following her, stalking. She asked him to stop, he wouldn’t.’  
‘She went to Professor McGonagall, but all of his friends gave him alibis for when she said he was after her, so she couldn’t do anything about it.’ Lily said bitterly. She remembered Mary crying to them in their dorm, her dark blonde hair tied up and cheeks flushed with sadness. Nobody could do anything to help her, and she was beginning to think he was trying to catch her alone. Lily shivered in terror at the thought of what he was planning to do to her friend.   
‘Rosiers have a reputation for being sex freaks.’ Sirius said, suddenly, and Lily realized she had forgotten she was telling him the story, and not James. She looked at Black and didn’t recognize his face. The smirk was gone, and instead he had a stiff expression, his back straightened and his eyes as dark and dead as a corpse’s. ‘He probably has a crush on her and wanted to do something about it, but she’s muggleborn. ‘  
‘Well, he won’t be doing any sexual things in a while after what we’ve done to him.’ Marlene said, taking Lily’s arm and squeezing it. Sirius looked at her, and she felt a strange cold wash her entire body, followed by a rush of heat. The repressed image of her on his lap, his hands entwined in her hair came fully to her head.   
‘We found a spell, ‘Lily explained, squeezing her friend’s hand with hers in return, ‘Rosier’s, hm, staff, won’t be working for a while. Besides, he got some weeks’ vacation at the Hospital Wing because Madam Pomfrey has no idea how to revert it yet. Mary’s relieved. ‘  
James blinked, and realized he was supporting his face with one hand, looking at her as though for the first time. Lily looked at him, and for a moment they just stared at each other. James blinked, and she blushed, looking down. He smiled at her, and the moment after that she was sitting him front of him, occupying the empty space Marlene left as she slowly slid towards Sirius.   
Sirius realized he was now sitting right in front of McKinnon. She looked down at her essay, and before he could say anything, Madam Pince appeared out of nowhere, looking at them through narrowed eyes.   
‘Hopefully you are half way done with your essays…’ She said, and Remus nodded, discreetly hiding his empty parchment with an arm. ‘I’ll be gone for some minutes, but I’ll be back any moment, so you’d better not take your attention off your work. ‘  
With that said, she turned on her heels and left. The empty library looked like a graveyard, the only sound their breathing. As he realized they were alone, Remus sighed. His head was aching with the effort of trying to write something meaningful and at the same time not discussing the real reason he was there. He didn’t want to talk about anything at the moment.   
Sirius yawned again and rose from his chair. Looking at Lily, he extended a hand formally. Lily looked surprised.   
‘Miss Evans, ‘ he said loudly, his voice echoing through the books and corridors, ‘I believe it’s time for me to yield to your mischieful-ness. Congratulations on destroying Evan Rosier’s cock.’  
Lily pressed her lips together, not knowing if he was mocking her or not. For a second, she just looked at him, and when Sirius insisted, she stood and shook his hand. He smiled at her, and she realized he respected her now. Marlene laughed. ‘Honestly, is that the only way you respect people?’ she asked.   
Sirius smirked. ‘Well, my dear, not a lot of people deserve my respect. I must have certain standards for that or I’ll end up respecting everyone, like my brother. He’s lost.’  
Lily frowned, sensing a sad undertone to his joke. She pictured Regulus Black, the Slytherin seeker and member of the same potion’s club as she. He was skinnier than Sirius, and instead of his charming nature, was shy and arrogant. He always looked down on her whenever their eyes crossed on the table, and Mary told her she once heard him mocking her, saying he didn’t know Slughorn had ‘so low standards as to invite a mudblood to his club’. She couldn’t care less what he thought of her was, obviously, but that day she realized that however bad her opinion of Sirius was, he was still the best person of his entire family. She couldn’t bring herself to ask him of his relationship with his parents. As he turned to Marlene, she grabbed his hand again, and he raised an eyebrow to her, taken aback for the first time.   
‘You’re better than him.’ She said, firmly. For a moment, Sirius had the intention of smiling as he always did and mock her for the reflective statement. Something in her kind way of saying, however, and the certainty she had that he was better than Regulus made him stop. He smiled sadly.  
‘You should tell my mum that.’ He said, darkly. Lily frowned, but before she could ask him anything else he had turned his attention completely to Marlene, the smug smile back on his face.   
‘Now, Mckinnon. Cheers, you’ve also made it to my list of respectful people.’  
‘Why, thank you, Mister Black.’ she faked a polite smile, bowing slightly to him. Instead of taking his hand, she extended her hand delicately to him. Sirius raised an eyebrow, his groins beginning to ache nicely at the game she was playing. Keeping his eyes on hers, he took her hand into his and moved it to his mouth, placing a gentlemanlike kiss there. She giggled mockingly, trying to pry her hands out of his, but he just pressed his fingers firmly on her.   
‘You surprise me, McKinnon.’  
Marlene felt the blood rushing everywhere inside her, the same hot and cold feeling of before coming back with irresistible force. She kept his gaze up, her voice velvety as she smiled. ‘That’s good.’  
Remus turned his eyes again to his parchment. He didn’t like it when Sirius decided to playfully flirt with girls, ignoring other people around. It only reminded Remus of what he could never have. Lily sat again, and he felt her warm hands cover his, making him look up.   
‘And you, Remus?’ she asked, a small smile on her face, ‘Why are you here?’  
Remus felt his mouth go dry. Lily seemed genuinely curious, and he didn’t know what to pretend he did to make her satisfied. He looked around, swallowing his own spit. Beside him, James cleared his throat, calling her attention to him. Lily turned to him.   
‘I’ll tell you why I’m here.’ He said quickly. Lily frowned, but let Remus go. He made a mental note to thank James afterwards. Not that he thought he was bothered by having to call Lily’s attention, of course. ‘I tried breaking into Slughorn’s cabinet at night to steal some ingredients.’  
‘What?!’ Marlene gasped, impressed. James smiled at her. ‘Is that why he’s securing his office with some intense spells now?’  
‘Probably.’  
‘What kinds of ingredients you were trying to steal?’ Lily asked, curious. James wasn’t very keen on potion brewing.   
‘Aconite.’ He said, simply. Remus lowered his face, knowing very well why James wanted aconite in the first place. He had read the Potion Brewer’s Digest, clearly, and saw Damocles’ invention. The Wolfsbane Potion.   
Lily seemed intrigued.   
‘And why would you need aconite? There are few potions that need it, and none of them are in your books… What were you trying to brew, James?’  
‘Y’know.’ Sirius said, interrupting her. ‘Since we’re having a reflective detention time here, I have to say what’s on my mind.’  
James looked down again, his head spinning. She called him James. Like that, naturally. His mind began making combinations of that sound, in different tones. How would his name sound in her lips when she was mad at him? Aroused? If he was kissing her? Would she moan his name? The possibilities were endless. She looked annoyed by Sirius’ interruption.   
‘I have to say… McKinnon,’ he turned to Marlene, getting up and crossing the table, ‘I find you very, very¸ attractive.’  
Remus rose his head one more time, and saw Marlene’s face turn red, and then pink. She looked up at him. ‘Really?’   
Sirius nodded, and James stared at his feet. Remus had the impression they were trying to distract the girls, but Lily didn’t look the least distracted. Marlene was just surprised. He sighed, feeling the weird pressure on his shoulders. He opened his mouth and closed again. He couldn’t have the lads covering for him, and they had only some months of school left. Lily and Marlene were trustworthy enough, he supposed, and if they weren’t he could at least ask them to give him time to graduate, and them register himself as he was supposed to do after school. Then they would never see him again. He’d probably starve to death, anyways, for no one would really give someone like him a job. They wouldn’t need to worry a lot.   
‘Remus.’ Lily insisted, ignoring Sirius’ face. ‘Is there something wrong? It’s only detention, it’s alright to get one, sometimes.’  
‘It wasn’t really hard to steal de aconite…’ James began again, and Lily scowled him.   
‘If it isn’t too much of an effort, Potter.’ She said, annoyed, ‘will you let me pay attention to someone else for a change? Thank you.’  
James stopped talking, and Remus felt guilty for making him take the fall for his secrets. He really liked Lily and shouldn’t have to anger her to protect him.   
‘He’s just trying to help me.’ He finally said, taking his hands off Lily’s. He looked at the girls, wondering the disgusted faces they’d make once he revealed why he was there. ‘I got detention because I forgot something in the Forest one night and went with Sirius to retrieve it.’  
‘Remus.’ Sirius called in a warning tone, sitting again. James turned to him as well.   
‘It’s alright.’ Remus said. ‘It was my robe. I forgot my robe in the Forest. I’ve only got the one for winters, so I had to get it back.’  
‘Why did you forget your robe in the forest?’ Marlene asked. Her eyes were roaming from one boy to another, frowning. She had never seen James and Sirius so… worried? Remus sighed again, straightened himself on the seat, and cleared his throat. He was pale.   
‘I forgot it there because I go there once every month.’  
‘And you strip?’   
‘Yes, I do. I strip because I transform. I’m… I’m a werewolf.’


	4. Chapter IV

Hogwarts File nº 569  
Student: Lily Evans, Gryffindor, Head Girl, Seventh Year.   
Penalty Assigned by: Professor Minerva McGonagall  
Detention: Saturday Detention  
Saturday, 10:30  
Remus seemed extremely distressed, and Lily couldn’t blame him. In the beginning, when they were children still, she knew something was off with him. The monthly absences, the weariness around his eyes and the scars that came out of nowhere were a good sign that whatever condition Remus Lupin had, was severe. Time had passed, however, and soon she began to realize that those signs only appeared on a certain time of the moon cycle, and in the end adding two and two wasn’t at all hard. Surprisingly, even though she had been in the wizarding community for three years at the time, she had no idea there was any kind of stigma around lycanthropy, so the kept quiet and just accepted. Remus was a werewolf and wanted to keep it private, all right. She could get that.   
But then, after a while, she learned about what it really meant.   
‘Rem.’ She sighed at his sad face, extending her hand and pressing lightly over his. ‘I already know that.’  
Beside her, Marlene was pale. ‘You knew?’  
‘Lenie.’ She glanced at her friend, ready to tell her off on her prejudice, but all she found was a sad face. Something warm grew inside her, and she reminded herself why she liked Marlene so much. Turning again to face Remus, she smiled.   
If felt like someone was filling all his veins with hot air, inflating him from the inside and then releasing all at once. Remus felt the kind grasp of Lily’s hand around his, a sudden fear overcoming the relief as he thought how easy she had figured out his secret.   
‘Do you think more people know… or suspect?’ he asked before he could think it through, and the Head Girl frowned.   
‘Of course not. Marlene didn’t know, and she has had the exact same school experience I did. Right, Lenie?’  
‘R-Right.’ Marlene was still speechless, and Remus was surprised to find he found that slightly more comforting than Lily’s relaxed reaction. He could deal with surprise, or shock. They were better than hate, anyhow.   
‘I’m sorry I didn’t disclose that.’ He finally said, trying to sound calm but hearing his own trembling voice come out instead, ‘I promised Dumbledore- ‘  
‘It’s fine, it’s your secret to keep’, Lily shrugged, taking her hand off his, ‘it’s a fair reason to get detention, by the way. I thought you had helped Black kill someone or something.’  
‘Oy!’ Sirius pressed his palm against his chest, trying to sound offended, but grinning at the same time. Remus looked pale and scared for a moment but seemed to be relaxing as the impact of his secret dissipated into the air. Lily was kinder than he expected, and he suddenly felt grateful Prongs fancied her and not some prick. Not that Prongs could fancy a prick, he reckoned. It was just good to know he had chosen well.   
‘Well, now that we got this out of the way you can tell us your story, James.’ Lily finally turned to him, and James had to clear his throat to adjust his voice. He couldn’t stop looking at her, admiring her as she showed just how gentle someone could be to a friend. Remus was always the weak link of their group, he thought, and on some level, he always feared he would be rejected by the stupid society they lived in. Knowing that there would always be at least one other person outside the Marauders that cared for him made his shoulders relax instantly, and his heart race dangerously. As if he could like her more.   
‘I was telling the truth, ‘he stated simply, ‘I needed aconite. Slughorn wouldn’t give it to me, obviously, so I stole it.’  
‘Well, why did you need it in the first place, then?’ Lily asked.  
‘I was trying a potion that could help Moony- I mean, Remus.’   
‘You should show me that, maybe I can help…’ she said, and James nodded without realizing what he was agreeing to. Under the table, Sirius kicked him, and when he looked, Padfoot rose from his chair.   
‘McKinnon, ‘he said, and Marlene turned away from staring Remus and gazed at him, forgetting for a moment she should be sassing him some more. Sirius felt a twinge in his lower stomach at her distracted face. ‘May I speak to you? In private, please, Miss.’  
Marlene rose an eyebrow, staring at him for a moment. They strolled through some shelves, and Sirius stopped abruptly, gazing at a distance before shrugging his shoulders.   
‘Well, I reckon they’re far enough’ he began, and Marlene rolled her eyes.   
‘I can’t believe you lied to me to get me here and leave James and Lily alone, you… you… dog!’  
Sirius rose a very dark eyebrow. ‘Do you really think so poorly of me, love?’  
‘Well, I do right now.’  
Sirius gave her a smug smile, and Marlene made a mental note to remind herself that that was still Sirius Black, and he rarely went out with anyone because, well, perhaps he thought most girls were just unworthy of his sodding presence. She leaned against some old books, crossing her arms. He was a little right, though. James could use some alone time with Lily.  
‘Remus is still there.’ She whispered, and Sirius nodded.   
‘He’s easily uncomfortable around couples, he’ll move.’  
Marlene doubted that very much, but it was nice to just stand there after almost two hours sitting. He arse was staring to ache, and Sirius wasn’t bad to look at, obviously. It’d be nice to stare at him for some moments until she went back to the real world where they barely spoke. Sirius leaned against the shelf opposite to hers, staring back. He ran his eyes over her, and she felt herself blush. It was a good feeling, being looked in that way by him.   
‘So,’ she began, glancing sideways to avoid eye contact, ‘was it all a lie?’  
‘All?’   
‘Yes. All, all that you said earlier. Was it all a lie?’  
Sirius sniggered, and stopped admiring her to look into her eyes. He wasn’t expecting her to be so… open about it.   
‘No, he confessed, watching as she bit her lower lip nervously, enjoying the view, ‘you really are good looking, Mckinnon. But I reckon you already know that, don’t you?’  
‘Well, I do have a mirror, y’know.’ She said, but a little smile formed over her lips, ‘You are not bad looking yourself, Black.’  
‘Come on, we know each other.’ He said, ‘call me Sirius, will you?’  
‘Oh, right, Sirius’, the way his name slipped lazily from her tongue made him feel dizzy all over again, ‘You can call me Marlene, then.’  
‘Good.’  
‘Good.’  
They stood there, in silence, each one looking for something else to say. 

‘Where are you going?’ Lily asked when Remus suddenly rose after Sirius and Marlene left. She tugged an auburn lock behind her ear, surprised at herself for being nervous. He gave her a tiny smile.  
‘The loo. I believe Filch said we could, didn’t he?’  
‘Yes…’ Lily blushed, and he left slowly. Too slow, perhaps.   
James looked at her, cursing his friends mentally for thinking up those lousy excuses to leave them alone. They had enough alone time lately to develop a hundred-page romance if they were meant to, but clearly Lily hated him enough that all the time in the world wouldn’t be enough to make her like him. So, what was the point, he thought grimly.   
‘Thank you for not panicking for Remus.’ He said finally, flipping though his half-done essay without looking at her.   
‘It’s not hard, really, ‘Lily confessed, ‘when I discovered what happened to him every full moon I didn’t know there was think kind of prejudice in the wizarding community. I just figured he’d want privacy about it, so I kept quiet. Clearly it was a good call, for later on I’d pay more attention to the horrible way in which wizards talk about werewolves.’  
‘Our world is still a very conservative one.’ James nodded. ‘If we had any other Headmaster, Remus would never have come to Hogwarts. ‘  
‘He’s a great student, that’s just unfair.’ Lily pursed her lips, wondering why he wouldn’t look at her. When the others were around he seemed comfortable enough to watch her, why was he shy now? ‘James?’  
‘Yes?’ he asked in a faint tone. It was really boring to pretend to read something, specially that essay, but he couldn’t just pretend like that was a natural conversation.   
‘Did I do something wrong?’  
Her voice was slightly sad, and James looked at her. She was frowning, her small hands collected in front of her, the essay under them with only two phrases written on it. He sighed.   
‘Look, ‘he began, feeling as if his heart was being turned inside out, ‘I know you’re bored, and that’s why you’re talking to me. It’s fine. I’ll just… Go to the loo as well. I’m sorry Sirius and Remus left you with me.’  
As he was rising from his chair, however, he felt something soft over his hand. ‘James,’ Lily called in an even softer tone, waking his every nerve suddenly. She rose as well, and he realized the table wasn’t as large as he thought it was. She was so close he could sense the flowery smell that came out of her, the mint of her breath, and his entire body just went crazy. He turned to her, his breath faltering a bit as he saw her smile.   
‘I’m not sad we’re alone.’ She said, looking down, blushing. She couldn’t believe herself, she thought, but at the same time it felt right to tell him that. Her muscles relaxed a bit, the tension from repressing her attraction to him going away as she felt blood rushing to her face. Waiting for him to leave, she felt her heart race when a long pair of fingers cupped her chin, gently pulling them up.   
James eyes were as hazel as they ever were, a strange shine to them as he stared her with the beginning of a smile on his handsome face. Lily’s insides turned to jelly, she could feel her skin burning where he touched her. ‘Tell me you like me.’ He said, almost in a whisper. She averted her eyes.   
‘I… I like you. Maybe.’ She completed quickly, and he giggled.   
‘I like you too, ‘he said, ‘No maybe at all. I like you a lot.’  
‘Well, that’s just good then.’ She said, and lost control over herself. His scent, the sound of his voice, those eyes, every bit of him seemed to entrance her, bring her closer to him, and before she could stop herself to think rationally, she felt his lips touch hers, an explosive feeling coursing through her body. Her hands trembled as he cupped her cheek with his palm, and she placed one hand on his shoulder, feeling the firmness of him, the reality of his presence engulf her. When they separated, she realized she was light on her feet, and she stumbled a bit as she sat again. James was flushed as well, his cheeks red and his chest went up and down as he tried to catch his breath, looking as if he had just stormed off a quidditch game.   
It just seemed so right to kiss him, she thought, her own breathing calming slowly as she stared at his face, wanting more. She wondered why she hadn’t done this before. 

Remus couldn’t stall any longer, so he returned to the library apprehensively, hoping he wouldn’t find James mopping over Lily or worse. He realized Sirius was intending to leave them alone, but obviously it was a risky plan, as all Padfoot plans were. When he arrived, however, they were sitting side by side at the table, writing their essays. James had the look of a lottery winner over his face, and Lily was quite flushed herself. Without saying anything, he sat by them, clearing his throat as he collected his papers. 

Sirius felt the shelves shake around them as he pressed Marlene’s back against it, capturing her lips with a swift move. She tasted like cherries and something spicy and smelled of that perfume that made him lose it. He cupped her nape with one hand, sliding the other down her waistline, pressing her, his lips tracing lines from her mouth to her jaw. He didn’t want to stop kissing her, but every time he left her mouth he could hear her sigh a little, and he enjoyed that sound very much.   
‘Siri…’ she called when he brushed his fingers on the edge of her shirt, ‘Sirius.’  
‘Hm’ he muttered shivering as her fingers ran through his hair, brushing the uncovered skin of his neck. With a gentle but firm push, she stopped the kiss. She bit her under lip and giggled.   
‘I think I heard Remus coming back. Maybe Madam Pince will return too.’  
‘I guess.’ He used his hand to comb his hair as he could, his insides burning, demanding the snogging to resume urgently. ‘Maybe we should just let her catch us, I should have detention with you every time.’  
Marlene laughed.   
‘I have no intention of losing my Saturday privileges any other day, sweetie. We can talk later.’  
And left. Sirius groaned. Damn that McKinnon girl and the detention that made him notice her.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter V  
Hogwarts File nº 570  
Student: Marlene McKinnon, Gryffindor, Seventh Year.   
Penalty Assigned by: Professor Minerva McGonagall  
Detention: Saturday Detention.  
Saturday, 11:00  
The library was silent again, the parchments flickering as the five students tried writing their essays for the first time. James and Lily sat by each other, Lily’s eyes glancing sideways at him from time to time as if to check he was really there, James with a satisfied lopsided smile crossing his entire face, his free hand dancing over the table. In front of them, Remus sat relaxed, scanning the parchment with his eyes and correcting a few mistakes he had made here and there, biting his lip a bit. Sirius and Marlene sat in front of each other, and Marlene could feel his feet close to hers under the table, her entire body shivering as if he was still kissing her.   
She tried not thinking about him, but her skin still remembered his touch. She coughed, writing whatever on the parchment just to pass the time, wondering if Sirius would meet her later on some empty classroom. She looked up a bit and caught him staring at her. Her stomach sunk deep, heart racing suddenly. Sirius leaned back on his chair, yawning.   
‘So, everyone’s done?’  
‘It’ll do, I suppose.’ Remus grinned, shrugging.   
‘I doubt Minerva will read any of this.’ James smirked, but landed the parchment on the table.   
‘I’ll make sure I ask her about her thoughts on them.’ Sirius insisted, pointing a finger at his own essay. ‘I put a lot of academic effort on it, surely she’ll have constructive criticism to offer me on my work.’  
‘Shut it, Padfoot.’ James said, but he laughed a bit.   
‘What? It’s an academic question. Don’t Head Boy me, Prongs, not you.’   
James blushed.   
‘I’m not… I’m not doing that.’  
‘Yes, you are.’ Remus pointed, and Sirius rose his eyebrows dramatically.  
‘If Moony’s sayin’ it’s true!’  
‘I’m just…’ he began, but Lily stopped him.  
‘It’s a lot of responsibility, being Head Boy. And Head Girl. You have to follow rules and behave a certain way. You can’t always be yourself. You wouldn’t know, Sirius.’  
‘Oh, I would not?’   
Marlene rolled her eyes. Sirius crossed his arms. Remus looked away, and James muttered ‘it’s fine’ to Lily under her breath.   
Silence.   
‘I would know.’ Sirius said. Lily rose her face, feeling the ice-cold tone of his voice at her. “You’re wrong, Evans.’  
‘Oh, really?’ Lily frowned, but something cold ran down her spine, making her approach James instinctively. Sirius was looking at her.   
‘I would know what is like to have to behave a certain way, to be forced to believe in something you don’t so not to upset the wrong people.’ He said darkly. Lily’s mouth went dry, her hands clutching the parchment. Sirius’ eyes darted from her face to her fingers, then back again, and a smug smile crossed his handsome face. ‘But well, I told them to fuck off and I’m still here, so perhaps I deal with it better that the lot of you. Right, Prongs?’  
‘Maybe you just went insane and that’s all inside your head.’ James darted back, and Marlene contained a smile. Lily was truly nervous, but she wanted to warn her not to be deceived by the boys’ talks. Sirius loved playing the dark one, and James hardly fell for it anymore. From her side of the table she winked at her friend.   
‘Ignore them, they’re ridiculous.’  
‘Oy!’ James said. ‘You are, Marle!’  
‘Am not!’ she said, picking her essay up with the tips of her fingers. ‘It says right here what I am:”  
I am Marlene McKinnon, I’m seventeen, I’m in Gryffindor and I am being punished for helping a friend. I do not regret it one bit, and if the victim comes back and tries to hurt any of my colleagues ever again, he will regret it. I know what he and his friends are up to, and if they think dark magic will shield them from me, they are really out of their minds.   
Today I found out there can be decent people in snake’s nests, and these people are remarkably good at things I wasn’t expecting. I will fight for these few decent wizards that are left. To conclude, I will state that if Evan Rosier from Slytherin House ever goes near me or my friends I will chop not only his cock off, but also his balls and head, therefore rendering him completely useless both in battle and in the bedroom.   
Sorry to be so blunt.   
Sirius and James were roaring, and Marlene smiled to herself, predicting they would like her essay. Remus contained a smile, trying to be discreet, and Lily pursed her lips, red in the face. ‘McGonagall will kill you for this!’  
‘No she won’t, she’ll laugh and shrug it off. She couldn’t care less about Rosier either. Someone else would care to share? Lily, what did you say?’  
Lily rolled her eyes, but grabbed her own essay and read it out loud:  
My name is Lily Evans, I’m seventeen and Head Girl at Hogwarts. I’m muggleborn and very proud of it, so it makes me sad and angry that there are colleagues of mine who think me inferior to them in any way. I’ve met muggles who are better people than half the wizarding world, so I reckon we have much to learn from them. I got detention for attacking another student, but since he was part of the bad half of the magical community, I unfortunately don’t regret it. He deserved much worse, but to his luck I am not the type of person to be cruel. If I were, we would be friends.   
I recently discovered some people aren’t as bad as they sound, and that when they want to, they can change into better versions of themselves. I wish my colleague who was attacked by me and a friend knew that and repented but am also sure this will never happen. We will always be on opposite sides.   
Sorry for disappointing the expectations put on me, it was for a good cause.   
‘You didn’t disappoint anyone,’ James said, looking seriously at her. ‘It’s unfair to expect you would see Mary being attacked and stood by to watch.’  
‘Well, McGonagall doesn’t feel that way.’ She began, but James clutched her hand under the table.   
‘She did what she had to do. She’s a Professor, she can only give you detention. It’s a part to play in this school.’  
‘He’s right, y’know.’ Sirius said. ‘Everyone has a role here. I, for one, have to prank everyone blind, or else who is going to make this place fun? And Remus here has the role of helping me get away with it, since James is too busy with you now.’  
‘We are not- ‘she began but gave up. Yes, yes, they were. He’d ask her out once more, and she would say yes this time, there was no denying it. ‘Well, what did you write, Remus?’  
‘Well…’ he said, taking a breath before he read:  
Remus Lupin, seventeen years old, Gryffindor house. I am the friend of James Potter, Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew and so many others. I am here in detention once again because I was breaking the curfew with Sirius in order to retrieve something of mine. He convinced me to do so and I, as usual, fell for it because he is my friend. Would I do it again? Perhaps. Will I be on detention with him any other time? Very likely. Sorry for all of this, I truly regret it.   
‘You’re such a good boy.’ Sirius pretended to cry, taking an imaginary handkerchief off his robes and wiping fake tears from his eyes. James laughed, and cleared his throat before reading his:  
James Potter. I’m seventeen, the Head Boy and friends with Sirius, Peter and Remus. I’m Quidditch Captain and we will win the cup this year, so that’s partially why I believe I should be forgiven. Also, I’m supposed to be well behaved and not to anything stupid, like stealing potion ingredients, or food. Did I say food? I do not steal food from the school. That is a lie. I, however, am being punished for stealing potion supplies from Professor Slughorn’s cupboard, for which I am terribly sorry, but I really needed them so hopefully when he is calmer we can talk and he can lend me the aconite without further need of me taking it without permission.   
I also am deeply, inevitably in love with the Head Girl, Lily Evans, and wish to take her to Hogsmeade the next weekend to we can know each other better and share a nice hot Butterbeer and laugh. I’m confident that I will make her laugh, so if she is listening to this it would be nice to have an answer: will you go to Hogsmeade this weekend with me? If yes, say yes. If no, I’ll never bother you again but please now that it will be a weight in your conscience to know I will be spending the weekend alone crying and wondering why you rejected me.   
‘That’s just-‘ Lily laughed, ‘Yes, James, I’ll go with you. No need for crying.’  
James opened a broad smile. ‘Thank you, prepare yourself for the best date ever. Hogsmeade history will celebrate this day.’  
‘He said that to me once, don’t believe him!’ Sirius bellowed. James rolled his eyes.   
‘How about you, Pads? What does your say?’  
Sirius grinned, cleared his throat very loud and grabbed his parchment.   
My name is Sirius Black. I’m being punished because I broke curfew again. Sorry. It’s probably happen again.   
The library door flung open, and Sirius halted his read to turn his head around. Madam Pince entered with Filch, both of them in disarray. Lily tried to erase from her mind the scenarios that could’ve lead to that, but it was hard. Looking down, she waited until Madame Pince went straight to her desk, not glancing behind, and Filch stomped to their table, sniffing suspiciously the air as if he could smell their misbehaviour while he was gone.   
‘Well?’ he asked, ‘you probably haven’t learnt a thing, so I think we’ll be seeing each other in the future. Gimme the essays, now!’   
Silently, Marlene rose and handed him her parchment, and watched as the others did the same. When Sirius put his on the top, only two lines written on it, Filch sniggered.   
‘Couldn’t find it in ya to write any more, Black? Professor McGonagall won’t like that…’  
‘Y’know,’ Sirius shrugged, but when Marlene looked at him, he winked at her, ‘I’m shallow like that.’  
‘I bet ye are.’ Filch scrambled the parchments on his hands, glancing at them. ‘Now get off my sight! One step out of line next time and it won’t be a silly essay you lot will have to write, mind ye!”  
Remus buried his hands in his trouser’s pockets as they nodded and left, stopping outside the library’s entrance. It was a weird feeling, having spent so long in one another’s company and then, suddenly, it was all over. He was used to having James and Sirius around, obviously, but Lily and Marlene were much better than he was expecting. Sirius yawned.   
‘See you later, loves. Suppose I’ll try to have some fun before the day’s out. Heard Rosier’s having the best time at the Hospital Wing, maybe I should pay him a visit, show how much I’m sad he’s not around…’ he smirked at Lily and Marlene, who contained smiles. ‘Be responsible, Prongs, Ms. Evans here doesn’t know of your kinks yet.’  
James felt his face burn, but before he could tell Sirius to fuck off, he was already gone. Remus muttered something about finishing an essay and left, leaving him alone with the girls in the silent corridor. Marlene pretended to look at an invisible watch on her wrist.   
‘Oh, dear, look at the time, perhaps I should see how Rosier is too. I feel so guilty, y’know.’   
‘She’s just going to look for Sirius.’ Lily mumbled when Marle was far enough, shaking her head in dismay. James crossed his arms, not knowing what to do with his hands near her. ‘I wonder what is on with him, it’s like a magnet or something…’  
‘Like what?’ James frowned, and Lily giggled.   
‘He attracts all the girls. I wonder why.’  
“Please don’t.’ James muttered, and Lily stared at him for a moment. He stared back. The hall fell silent, and then they giggled. ‘So, we’re on for that date…’  
‘Don’t make me regret it.’ Lily rose an eyebrow, and James smirked.   
‘Oh, Evans, you’re in for the best date of your life. Maybe if we went to the lake I could-‘  
‘Give me a preview?’ she completed. James held his breath. ‘Maybe.’  
James grinned, and as they walked away from the library, felt Lily’s fingers brush his. Maybe if he convinced Lily to steal from Slughorn with him they could end up in detention together again…   
The End


End file.
